Maddyson Langley, 7, cries herself to sleep at night because she can’t get home to her mum and brother, who she hasn’t seen for weeks. She is one of many ordinary Australians who have been kept apart from loved ones due to state government red tape during the pandemic. Maddyson has been stranded at her grandmother’s home in south Gippsland – which has no actives cases – for over a month now.The grade two pupil flew to Melbourne from Cairns to stay with her grandmother, Treacie Martin, when Victoria’s snap lockdown was announced. Her flight was mid-air when the news broke. Multiple pleas and exemption requests from both her mum Shannon Phippen and Ms Martin have been rejected by Queensland Health, despite NRL players and their families being allowed to enter the state. “It is the worst feeling not knowing when you might see your kid again,” Ms Phippen told the Sunday Herald Sun.“They’ve got no compassion. For them to take someone’s kid away and keep them away, it’s like war. This is the most brutal thing that I have ever been put through. “No one from the Queensland government has helped me, but they’ve let the families of NRL players come in for their mental health. What about our mental health?” Maddyson was sent to Victoria to see her grandmother and to have a break away from helping care for her nine-year-old brother, Cruize, who has severe autism spectrum disorder and is non-verbal. Being locked out of home for so long has left Maddyson upset, anxious and unable to sleep.“Maddyson now thinks she will never see her mummy and brother again,” her grandmother said.Ms Phippen added: “She’s crying herself to sleep. She’s getting more and more upset as the days go on. It’s heartbreaking to hear and not being there to help her. “We really need her home with us, because she’s a huge support and help to Cruize. He’s a bit lost without her and doesn’t understand why she’s not here.” After being contacted by the Sunday Herald Sun yesterday the Queensland government indicated it would take a closer look at the case. Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the exemption process was complex, but said any children separated from their families would be granted the right to come home. Despite that announcement, Ms Phippen said she had lost faith in the system.“We’ve been dismissed so many times, and because they’ve been so hard to deal with, I have no confidence that she’s coming home until she’s physically on the plane and in the air,” she said. “I was so scared to send her down because of this happening, but we don’t have a huge family network up here, and my little girl hasn’t seen her family for two years. It should never have got to a point where a kid doesn’t get to see her grandparents for that long.” Today the Herald Sun launches a new series, Show a Heart, imploring our leaders and health bureaucrats to show more compassion and humanity in their decision-making around Covid restrictions. We do not ask for health orders to be overturned, or ignored. But with rising rates of Covid-19 vaccinations around the country, the risk inherent in many requests for health order exemptions is far less than it was. The stern rejection of requests has left people broken.
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